Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/179

 Finister, there arose an extreme storme, which continued foure dayes, in such sort, that the fleete was dispersed, and all our great boats lost, and the Iesus our chiefe shippe, in such case, as not thought able to serue the voyage: whereupon in the same storme we set our course homeward, determining to giue ouer the voyage: but the eleuenth day of the same moneth, the winde changed with faire weather, whereby we were animated to followe our enterprise, and so did, directing our course with the Islands of the Canaries, where according to on order before prescribed, all our shippes before dispersed, met at one of those Ilands, called Gomera, where we tooke water, and departed from thence the fourth day of Nouember, towards the coast of Guinea, and arriued at Cape Verde, the eighteenth of Nouember: where we landed 150 men, hoping to obtain some Negros, where we got but fewe, and those with great hurt and damage to our men, which chiefly proceeded of their enuenomed arrowes: and although in the beginning they seemed to be but small hurts, yet there hardly escaped any that had blood drawen of them, but died in strange sort, with their mouthes shut some tenne dayes before they died, and after their wounds were whole; where I my selfe had one of the greatest woundes, yet thanks be to God, escaped. From thence we passed the time vpon the coast of Guinea, searching with all diligence the riuers from Rio grande, vnto Sierra Leona, till the twelfth of Ianuarie, in which time we had not gotten together a hundreth and fiftie Negros: yet nothwithstanding the sicknesse of our men, and the late time of the yeere commanded vs away: and thus hauing nothing wherewith to seeke the coast of the West Indias, I was with the rest of our company in consultation to goe to the coast of the Mine, hoping there to haue obtained some golde for our wares, and thereby to haue defraied our charge.

But euen in that present instant, there came to vs a Negro, sent from a king oppressed by other Kings his neighbours, desiring our aide, with promise that as many Negros as by these warres might be obtained, as well of his part as of ours, should be at our pleasure: whereupon we concluded to giue aide, and sent 120 of our men, which the 15 of Ianuarie, assaulted a towne of the Negros of our Allies aduersaries, which had in it 8000 Inhabitants, being very strongly impaled and fenced after their manner, but it was so well defended that our men preuailed not, but lost sixe